Being a Boy Mom

Ever Since Gage was born and made me a mom of two amazing boys, a lot of people ask if we are going to try for a girl. I tell them that yes we will eventually have a third and last baby with which they respond "You will probably get stuck with another boy!" Now, I'd be lying if I said I don't want a girl. A little lady would fit great with our family. But if I have a third boy and complete our family with all boys, I will be one hundred percent happy with that. I won't be "stuck" with all boys as if it's a bad things. To be completely honest, I really love being a boy mom and my heart might even be a little heavy in a sense, if that title changes. 

I love the race cars on my kitchen floor, the tractors laid out all over the couch, the squirt guns in the bath tub and I even love finding dinosaurs tucked underneath my bed sheets when I go to climb in bed. I love our wrestling matches, our talks about monster trucks and how planes fly high and I love when our nightly walk takes ten times longer than normal because we have to stop and look at all the bugs. I love building forts, coloring monsters and wearing matching chuck Taylor's. 

But I have to say my most favorite thing about having boys is watching the bond with their daddy. I love watching Ryder follow Tyson around mimicking his every move. I love when we eat dinner and Ryder wants a cup just like daddy or when he will only take bites when daddy does. I love watching Gage crawl over to Tyson right when he walks in the door from work. When he grabs his beard and gives a nice little scream in excitement that his daddy is holding him. Or when I just can't get Gage to sleep and Tyson can soothe him in minutes. 

I love watching Tyson teach his boys how to fish, how to ride a bike, how to play baseball and how to hold the door open for mommy. If my boys grow up to be even just half the man Tyson is, I'll be happy. 

Someone once told me that a son is a mothers greatest gift. That her boys will always look out for her and take care of her as she grows old. And that sons will always have a special place in their hearts for their moms. 

So if in the future, you see me at the grocery store with a cart full of boys, Know that I'm so happy and blessed to be "stuck" with all boys. My hands might look full, but so is my heart. 

10 Months Old

 

 

 

 

 

My heart aches that this little babe is already 10 months old. I just can't believe we will be celebrating his first birthday in just a few short months. I do have to say though that he is at such a fun age! I love his sassy personality and watching him learn new things everyday. He weighs 21 lbs and is 29 inches long. He has 6 teeth, strawberry blonde hair, is in size 4 diapers {although we are switching him to 5's because they are snug} is wearing 12 month + size clothing and has the most deliciously chubby legs!  

Eating :  Gage is a such a little pig. Don't even think about eating anything without sharing with him! He still nurses about 5 times a day and eats 3 solid meals. His favorite foods are pasta, bread, avocado, peas, sweet potatoes, peaches and mango's.

Sleeping: He still takes 2 naps a day, goes to bed around 7:00pm and wakes up around 7:00am. He still gets up at least once a night to nurse, sometimes twice, sometimes much more than that. But on a good night he gets up once. Other than that he is a pretty good sleeper! 

Milestones: He's getting really close to walking by himself. He cruises using his walker {you can see videos on my Instagram @whitrichins} and is definitely determined to learn how to do it alone. He also had two more top teeth pop through this week which makes 6 teeth and he is absolutely loving his new big boy car seat.
For those of you who were wondering, we got Ryder the Britax Pioneer G1.1 Harness-2-Booster Car Seat, Domino and put Gage in the Britax Marathon G4.1 Convertible Car Seat, Onyx. We have nothing but great things to say about both Britax car seats and they are definitely worth the money.

 

Dislikes: Getting dressed, getting his diaper changed and getting out of the bath tub. Making him sit still is a form of torture and don't even think about telling him no. He doesn't like sharing toys with his brother either. He is starting to not love his binky as much, He only takes it when he goes to sleep or i'll give it to him while were out and I don't want him putting things in his mouth. This kid puts EVERYTHING in his mouth.  

Likes: Climbing and Getting into everything. I mean everything. End tables, over the baby gate, into cupboards, over the bath tub and into his toy baskets. This also means he falls off of all of those things multiple times a day, he cant go a day without getting a bruise. He also loves food, taking a bath, pulling hair, making lots of noises and being outside. But his favorite thing of all time is his Lovey. Just like Ryder, he wont do anything or go anywhere without it. They are a HUGE hit in our house.

Here's what Gage has been up to this month.

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A Day In Our Life

The last time I did a "Day In our Life" post Gage was not even 2 months old, wow have things changed so it is definitely time for un update! I love reading other blogs about their daily schedules and I like that I can look back and see how the boys have grown. Here is how most days go in our house as of late.


7:00 am- Gage wakes up and I nurse him in his room. I change his diaper then I bring him downstairs and he plays while I drink coffee, check emails and blog. This is basically the only alone time him and I get besides feedings so I really love this time with him.

8:00-9:00 am- Ryder wakes up. I give him a cup of milk and some Cheerios to snack on while I make breakfast. Ryder is always so excited to see Gage in the morning so he gives him lots of hugs and kisses and he entertains him while I get breakfast on the table. 

9:00am - We all sit down to eat. Ryder's favorite is yogurt, fruit, toast and sometimes eggs. Gage eats fruit and oatmeal and I usually just eat oats and milk. 

10:00 am After breakfast I take the boys to their rooms and get them dressed, do their hair and brush their teeth. It's time for Gage to take his first nap so while Ryder plays in his room I nurse Gage and lay him down. 

10:00-11:30 am - Ryder plays with his toys or in the backyard while I do dishes and laundry. 

11:30 - 12:30 Gage wakes up from his nap and it's time to start lunch. Lunch can get so boring and be the same thing everyday so I try my best to feed the boys a variety of things. We will usually eat turkey or tuna sandwiches, pizza, avocado and mozz grilled cheese, spinach and cheese quesadillas, home made Mac n cheese in a mug, or leftovers. Gage eats everything we do but I'll usually give him a little extra veggies because he loves them. 

12:30- 2:30 This is the only time I have to run errands or do things out of the house before Gage naps again. We do shopping, go on walks, play outside, go to the park, run errands etc during this time. I try to do something active with Ryder at this time too otherwise he has built up energy around dinner time and is a mad man.

2:30 pm- it's time for Gage's second nap. I turn on a tv show for Ryder, nurse Gage and put him down. 

2:30-4:00 pm - This is when I get my deep cleaning done like toilets, tubs, mopping etc. Since Ryder doesn't nap I give him something to do whether it be coloring, watching a show or playing on the iPad. I like to do a little bit of cleaning done each day of the week so when the weekend rolls around everything is done and I have the weekend to relax. 

4:00-4:30 pm : Gage wakes up from his nap and usually nurses again then we play as a family. Tyson's work schedule varies but some days he is home by this time so we all like to spend some time together until dinner. 

5:00-5:30 I start dinner If it isn't already in the crock pot, I use my crock pot almost everyday because unfortunately I'm a really bad cook :)  We have to eat dinner early because Gage goes to bed pretty early. 

6:00 pm We eat dinner, clean up toys and try to go for a walk to get wiggles out before bed. 

7:00 pm I really like to have Gage in bed by this time but when it's bath nights he goes to bed a little later than this. So we either do bath time or we get the boys in jammies and I nurse Gage and put him to bed while Tyson plays with Ryder. 

7:30 pm we start Ryder's bedtime. We brush his teeth, say prayers and read books. I can't go to bed without the house being semi clean so I leave to finish cleaning up the kitchen and toys while Tyson lays with Ryder and they talk about their day and he's usually asleep around 8:00

8:00-10:30pm Tyson and I catchup on our DVR shows, go over our budget some days and just relax and spend time together. 

11:00pm Gage wakes up to nurse. I swear babies have a radar that can detect when their moms fall asleep because he literally wakes up right when I close my eyes. He also doesn't sleep through the night unfortunately. He gets up atleast once a night to nurse. If he's teething or not feeling well it's more than that. It just depends on the night. 

Then we start all over again the next day! My schedule loving heart is so happy that we are finally in a pretty good routine vs my last day in our life post. But seriously....wasn't that just yesterday??

You might also be interested in A Day in Our Life Using Essential Oils //  Newborn Sleeping Tips and Tricks // A Day in Our Life {Newborn Edition} // 8 Months Old and a Schedule

Friday Favorites

 

Happy FriYAY from these two cuties! There are some thunderstorms rolling in this weekend so since we wont be able to play outside we will probably just spend the weekend out shopping {because these two are growing like weeds} and relaxing at home. Here are some of my favorite finds for the week.

 

H&M has the cutest boy tanks on sale right now! You get a 2 pack for $7.95 and its buy two get one free! Most are sold out online but our local store had a ton. Ryder and Gage are wearing the Blue Tanks in the pic above. And seriously, how cute are babies in Suspenders?? I.die,

 

 

We just received Gage's new bedding from Ollie and Lime    {Pics coming soon} And we really love it! The material is amazing and as always I love the packaging. Like most baby bedding, it is a little pricey so keep your eye out for a sale.

 

Trilogy Design CO is having a 40% off Pre-Sale right now. I have my eye on their Chevron  and Pretty Boy Swag tee's. Little boys in Graphic Tee's are my favorite.

 

I love this Mint Kitchen Aid Mixer. I have wanted one forever and definitely need to finally get one.

 

Girl Mama's, I can't get over these Sleevless Swing Dresses. Maybe I'll buy a few and stash them away until a girl comes along....Just kidding, we all know I'm probably a total boy mom forever!

 

Speaking of babies...Thanks to Time Hop on my Facebook for reminding me of what I looked like 3 years ago today, Pregnant with our little Ryder. Oh I miss that belly! Excuse me while I go talk Tyson into having another baby.....

 

 

Have a great weekend! xo

Introducing a Cup to your Breastfed Baby

When I wrote the title to this post I couldn't help but laugh a little. "How to introduce a sippy cup to your breastfed baby" umm....give. them. the. cup. Yeah, it wasn't that easy for us. I'm sure some babies take to it pretty easy but it definitely took some time for us.  Since Gage is exclusively breastfed we knew we wanted to introduce a sippy cup early on so when it is time to wean him he can go straight to a cup and not a bottle. It took some trial and error but we finally figured it out and I have a little advice for those in the same boat.

 

 

 

 

 

Pick the right time and age. You don't want them to be too young when you introduce a sippy to them. You want to make sure they can pick it up and use it themselves. We decided to give one to Gage when he was off pureed foods and eating more finger foods {around 7 months} and he needed more liquid with his meals.

 

Pick the right cup. I know, I know. there are a million cups out there. I noticed that Gage liked the soft spout sippys rather than the hard ones. Also, the flow was a big issue for us. They were either too fast that he'd choke or too slow that he'd get frustrated. We finally found one he loved called Nuby Soft Spout No-Spill Clik-It Cup. There are so many great things that I love about this cup. The spout is just the right length, there were a few cups that the spout was super long and made him gag. Their Touch-Flo technology activates as soon as your baby puts their mouth on the spout and it is also one piece Which  means there is no additional valve that needs to be cleaned like most cups. I also loved that it click's to let you know that it's locked. Here's some more info on the Nuby Cup.

 

- 6 Months +

- 10 oz/ 300ml

- Easy grip base, perfect for little hands

- One piece no spill soft silicone spout

- Touch-Flo technology that activates as soon as your child puts their mouth on the spout

- Leak proof technology that you an see and hear. Hear the "click" and know its locked

- Endorsed by Pediatric Dentist Dr. Grace Yum

- BPA FREE

 

available at

Babies R Us

Target

TJ Maxx

 

 

 

 

Meal time only. When I first gave Gage a cup I tried to just leave it in his sight all day so he would see it and maybe try it, but then he totally thought it was a toy. So I changed to just giving it to him at mealtime so he would associate it with his food. He learned fast that it had to do with his food and that it wasn't for him to play with. 

 

Older siblings make good examples. Gage watches Ryder's every move and tries everything he does. So I gave the cup to Ryder and told him to show Gage how to use it. Worked like a charm! Who knew a 3 year old could teach him more than me??

 

 

Super simple advice for what you think would be a simple task right?? Hope it helps those who might be struggling with the same thing. And am I the only one out there who had a hard time with this? 



As a participant of the Nuby Parent Blogger program I receive items to review. However all opinions are my own.